Summary:
Rand Paul had a strong performance. Strong enough to reverse his fall? We’ll see.
Ted Cruz did great, badly damaged Marco Rubio in their exchanges, and avoided Dana Bash’s amateurish attempt to force him to scrap with Donald J. Trump. Cruz is the overall winner tonight.
Jeb Bush had a good performance, not great, but good, and effectively took on Trump.
Dr. Ben Carson was genial as always, but not terribly articulate. He did, however, have a key moment when he slapped down Hugh Hewitt’s crude attempt to mischaracterize his position.
Carly Fiorina showed she can drive her message very effectively, but looked petulant and impatient at times. Not good.
Chris Christie seems unable to articulate anything beyond “screw civil liberties, when need a tough guy with executive experience.”
John Kasich was wrong on nearly everything, and still comes off angry and arrogant. Here’s hoping he’s gone soon.
